| − | [[File:Backrdv12n2.jpg|thumb|A propaganda poster shows the cult of personality of [[Karl Marx]], [[Friedrich Engels]], [[Lenin]] and [[Stalin]]]] | + | [[File:Backrdv12n2.jpg|thumb|A propaganda poster shows the cult of personality of [[Karl Marx]], [[Friedrich Engels]], [[Lenin]], and [[Stalin]]]] |
| − | A '''cult of personality''' refers to a situation in which an individual, often a dictator of a country, uses propaganda and media tools excessively to create a strongly positive image of himself, often with unquestioning praise. People who have created a cult of personality include [[Kim Jong Il]], [[Mao Tse Tung]], [[Saddam Hussein]], [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Lenin]], [[Josef Stalin]], [[Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini]], [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Richard Dawkins' cult of personality|Richard Dawkins]]. | + | A '''cult of personality''' refers to a situation in which an individual, often a dictator of a country, uses propaganda and media tools excessively to create a strongly positive image of himself, often with unquestioning praise. People who have created a cult of personality include [[Kim Jong Il]], [[Mao Zedong]], [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Vladimir Lenin]], [[Joseph Stalin]], [[Saddam Hussein]], [[Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini]], [[Fidel Castro]], and [[Richard Dawkins' cult of personality|Richard Dawkins]]. |
| | Whilst rarer in democratic societies, there are examples of a personality cult being built around certain western political leaders including [[John F. Kennedy]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], [[Ronald Reagan]], and most recently [[Barack Obama]]. | | Whilst rarer in democratic societies, there are examples of a personality cult being built around certain western political leaders including [[John F. Kennedy]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], [[Ronald Reagan]], and most recently [[Barack Obama]]. |